Dolphins a catch for Patriots' Wes Welker

Friday

Nov 30, 2012 at 6:00 AM

Since the Dolphins traded Wes Welker to the Patriots in 2007, the wide receiver surely has had some fun against his old team. In nine games, Welker has caught 75 passes for 981 yards and four touchdowns. His averages of 8.3 receptions and 109 yards are the best against any team that Welker has faced more than once in his career.

By Jennifer Toland TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Since the Dolphins traded Wes Welker to the Patriots in 2007, the wide receiver surely has had some fun against his old team.

In nine games, Welker has caught 75 passes for 981 yards and four touchdowns. His averages of 8.3 receptions and 109 yards are the best against any team that Welker has faced more than once in his career.

“I enjoy going up against anybody,” Welker said yesterday as the Patriots continued preparations for Sunday's game in South Florida, “but definitely I'm familiar with the field and the stadium and I've always enjoyed playing there. You're only as good as your next game. We'll see.”

Welker has five 100-yard receiving games against the Dolphins, including an eight-catch, 160-yard effort in last season's opener in Miami, and a 12-catch, 138-yard performance at Gillette Stadium last Christmas Eve. Welker has three 100-yard games against both Buffalo and the Jets.

With 80 receptions for 961 yards on the year, Welker needs just 39 yards to reach 1,000 yards for the fifth time as a member of the Patriots. His four 1,000-yard seasons are already a Patriots record.

Welker has led the team in receptions the last five seasons and in receiving yards four straight years.

Dolphins defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle this week compared Welker to Miami receiver Davone Bess, who is in the midst of his own fine season with 55 receptions for 715 yards.

Welker and Bess are among the league's leaders in third-down receptions this year. Welker is tied for third with 23 catches for 261 yards. Bess is fifth with 22 receptions for 231 yards.

“(Welker) is along like our Davone Bess in that he gets in the slot and he just works you,” Coyle said. “(The Patriots) do such a good job of running option routes with him, and Welker and (Tom) Brady are on such the same page where if you take leverage to his outside, he's going to beat you inside. If you take leverage to the inside, he's going to stick you and he's going to break you outside.

“It's not just his flat vertical speed that's scary,” Coyle said. “It's more (that) he's one of the quickest players that I've ever seen in the league. Because of that, he just finds a way to (get open) and he's tough. He'll catch the ball in traffic and he'll block and he'll do all the things that you want a receiver to do.”

The Patriots got some seemingly good news on the injury front yesterday. Offensive linemen Dan Connolly (back) and Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee) returned to practice on a limited basis after having missed Wednesday's session.

Left guard Logan Mankins — along with tight end Rob Gronkowski, defensive end Chandler Jones and offensive lineman Marcus Zusevics — remained out.

In their last two games, the Patriots have produced two touchdowns on special teams. Julian Edelman returned a punt 68 yards for a score against the Colts, and in kick coverage against the Jets he corralled a fumble forced by Devin McCourty and raced 22 yards to the end zone.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, have allowed two special-teams TDs in their last two games, a 79-yard punt return and a 98-yard kickoff return.

“We didn't keep good enough leverage on the football,” Miami coach Joe Philbin said. “We didn't win one-on-one blocks, didn't get off blocks quick enough, fast enough, didn't use our help, whether it was the sideline or our pursuit of another player, well enough. There are definitely things that we saw on tape that we need to do better. Primarily, we've got to win those one-on-one blocks better.”

“Look at the numbers,” Tannehill said, pointing to Manziel's nation-leading 4,600 yards of total offense and 43 touchdowns. “He's surpassed Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, who both won the Heisman in the years that they set the SEC record for yards in a season. That alone, plus the fact of the game-changing plays he can make, the electrifying plays when he's running around and making people miss.”